


the empress's new porg

by Anonymous



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Emperor Kylo Ren, Empress Rey, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Rey Solo, Soft Ben Solo, Soft Kylo Ren, all hail the porg, and the porg is a little terror, because this is my canon, ben is a soft emperor basically, berry the porg wants attention, he's a cutie, kind of crack, not really - Freeform, now with outtakes, rey is just really soft, reylo has a porg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24101992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: In which Kylo is a soft Emperor and his Empress has a secret.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 46
Kudos: 279
Collections: Fanfic Anonymous





	1. the royal secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what's rey hiding?

“Sir, there’s a general waiting for you—”

Kylo sighs, dropping his datapad on the table and gesturing for his protocol droid to send the visitor in. He’s never disturbed very much while he’s working due to his still rather infamous temper, so the fact that this man has been waiting to enter his office for the past twenty minutes is strangely amusing. 

He enters with a resolute look on his face, but his Force signature belies his terror. He stands straight and gives his Emperor a military salute, but as Kylo gestures for him to sit down he shakes. 

It’s a strange feeling, to understand why people fear him now. Rey refuses to be feared — sometimes, in his opinion, she’s much _too_ kind to their underlings — but he’s always been like this. And even now as he’s actively trying to be better, his efforts seem to be working across the galaxy as a whole, but not with his high command. Those who are _left,_ at least. His cleaning of Snoke’s closet had almost led to anarchy. His mouth twists as he remembers Hux, executed in clear view of all he’d hurt. _Good riddance._

The man doesn’t seem to want to talk first, so he gives himself the honors. “What, general,” he drawls, “seems to be the issue that has led to such a dramatic overture on your part?”

“Sir, the main cabinet has been dealing with . . . an _unusual_ disturbance lately.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Which is?”

“The Empress.”

He leans back, shocked and a little angered. The majority of his officers on the newly built Supremacy have enough common sense to not attack his _wife_ of all people in front of his eyes. He may have turned over a new leaf, but Rey is still a tough spot, and he supposes that she does, in a way, have him curled around her fingers. She’s the reason for the vast majority of his reformations, anyways. Reformations he’d ensured his generals were all on board with.

His stare is a little intense, he supposes, as the man suddenly blanches before turning red as lava. “Oh, no sir, not . . . not the Empress herself. We value her, of course. It’s just . . . her _creature.”_

He squints. “Her _creature?_ ”

“There is this . . . I believe you call it a _porg,_ sir . . . which has been ruining some of the electrical work on the upper deck. Due to it being under the Empress’s protection, most personnel simply lets it be . . . and it’s been racking up its fair share of expenses lately. I was wondering if you could ask the Empress, perhaps, to limit where it is allowed? Or to communicate with it? It’s—it’s getting a little out of hand.”

He sits, staring incredulously at the man in front of him. A _porg?_ With a quick sigh, he pushes his chair back and stands, the general matching him. With a quick nod of his head and an internal smirk at the man’s discomfort, he shakes his hand. “I will have a conversation with her, general. Please see yourself out.”

The man runs, leaving Kylo to cover his mouth with his gloves as he shakes in mirth and stares at his uncharacteristic stride.

* * *

  
  


Rey comes in later than usual for dinner that night, something which he’s come to expect on Zhellday, as it's when she spends the day with the techs. He waits for her to shower and change before they settle in for their meal, her buns bouncing and her face bright as she recounts the issue she’d solved with the ship she’d been repairing. He stares at her lightly as she swallows up her soup, and she questions him after a few minutes.

“Is everything alright?”

“I . . .” he wants to put his face in his hands. He has no idea how to address this odd and strangely domestic situation. He doesn’t get much of this. “A general came to see me today. With a complaint”

“Oh. That’s strange. What did he say?”

“Actually,” he takes in a deep breath. “It was something to do with you.”

She raises her head up at him and then looks back, seeming barely affected. “What was it? Was I ‘too strong willed’ about the Outer Rim outposts again? Or was it indentured servants on Polis Massa?”

“Not political.”

“So, then?” she stares at him. “What happened, Ben? You’re blushing.”

“Do you have a pet?”

“ _What?”_

“Do you?”

Rey’s turning red now. “Berry is not a pet! He’s a porg. He hid in my ship when I left Ahch-To.”

“You have a porg. Named Berry?” 

“I . . .” she turns her eyes downcast. “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

He’s confused now. “I mean, it’s not. It’s a porg. How long has he been here?”

“Eleven months.”

“Why didn’t you . . . tell me?”

She drops the soup spoon into the empty bowl, and it clatters. “I didn’t think you really liked living creatures.”

“I like you—”

She laughs a little. “It’s a little bit different.”

There’s a strange pause for a minute before he looks into her eyes again, not able to stop the hurt from bleeding into his voice. “Rey. Did you think I was going to hurt Berry?”

“No!” 

He gives her a reproachful look and she sighs. “Maybe at first, a little bit. I knew you’d find him annoying. And then I kind of forgot about telling you.”

She looks rather downtrodden, so he pushes his meal away and walks to her, lightly putting his arms around her shoulders. “Well, it seems like Berry has been eating the consoles on the upper deck. Do you think you can make sure that he stops that?”

Rey pulls her head up, snuggling against his chest, before it finally hits her. “He’s been _eating_ the consoles? Oh, that little . . .”

He laughs and waits for her to get up before pulling her closer. “And maybe after you discipline him, we can be introduced? I have a feeling I’ll like the little terror.”

“Yes,” she smiles. “It seems you both have a proclivity for destroying expensive equipment, anyways.”

“Hey—” she runs towards their room with a giggle, and he shouts as he runs after her and tackles her onto the bed.

* * *

The creature, in all its orange and grey and white adorableness, seems to look at him with contempt when Rey introduces them. It turns out that he’s been living in the corner of Rey’s study, which he doesn’t tend to frequent anyways.

“Why Berry?” he asks her as they start a staring match.

“The only plants that really grew on Jakku were Tuanulberry bushes. It seemed to fit him.”

Jakku. He can sense the pain behind her words as she says them aloud, and reaches out to her using their bond for a second. She gives him a light smile before leaning down and letting her fingers run over the creature’s wings. “Hey, Berry. Have you been bothering the techs and eating wires by any chance, lately?”

The creature lets out a shriek which makes him cringe, but Rey doesn’t seem to mind. “Really? Are you sure?”

It lets out another, slightly pitiful squawk. His wife sighs as she leans down closer to the ground and collects him in her arms. “You have to try, okay?”

After another whimper, she looks at him with softness in her eyes. “I know, it’s fun. I like it too. How about I get you some spare wires to play with? And, you know,” she gives Ben a mischievous look, “maybe we can get you a room of your own now, too.”

Berry narrows his orbs towards Ben again, and he moves back a little. Rey laughs at his awkwardness. “This is Ben! He’s my husband,” dedicatedly listening, she follows up. “Yes, he’s related to Luke. He’s going to be nicer to you too.” 

He gulps. “Right. Er, Berry . . .” he feels ridiculous talking to a shrill piece of fur, but he looks at Rey’s blinding smile and surrenders his persona for a second. “Nice to meet you.”

Slightly straighter in Rey’s arms, the porg slowly reaches out one of his fluffy wings. After a second of self-reflection, he reaches out one of his fingers and touches it. Rey’s smile is worth it.

* * *

He’s reading up on the mining agreements his engineers had sent him when his droid’s monotonous voice fills the room again. “The general from last week on the personal issue is here again. He tells me he wishes to say his thanks. Should I—”

Kylo ponders it for a second — it’s asinine, and he’s a busy man — but he’s in a good mood as he signs off on the last document. “Let him in.”

The man enters and waits for a second as Kylo gestures for him to take a seat. “Not necessary sir, I just wanted to thank you for—” he stops and stares at his Emperor’s lap for a second.

He glances down, wondering — oh. Berry is on his lap, and apparently fast asleep. The porg is practically weightless, so it doesn’t feel like much.

He feels a strong urge to blush or hide the porg or mess with the general’s mind, but he ends up sighing and placing Berry on top of the records he’d been going through. He lets out a soft sound as he readjusts to the table.

“General,” Kylo squints. “You manage on-board affairs, do you not?”

“Uh, yes, sir,” the man seems to be more embarrassed than Kylo, outright staring at his desk.

“Please send a team to my quarters tomorrow evening. I am need of a new room.”

After a quick affirmation the man is on his way again, and Kylo looks down to see Berry staring at him with a strange light in his wide eyes. “Shut up,” he groans. “Little terror.”

He gets a shriek and a nudge for his trouble, and moves the porg into his lap as he gets back to work. Berry curls up and falls asleep once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bcibqcuibquwb i don't like myself. but PORGS ARE SO CUTE OMG. that's it. i'm going to go tweet that. just that.


	2. berry birthday to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's a special day ;)   
> thanks for the great response to this! i hope you guys like the next installment of the adventures of berry the porg and the very much not intimidating emperor!

“Rey. I rule the galaxy.”

She sniffs and adjusts his sweater a little, ripping off a loose thread on his shoulder. “Technically, we both do.”

“Fine. But still. I’m the Emperor.”

She takes a step back and smiles at him, her eyes tracing her handiwork. “Yes, you’re the big bad Kylo Ren. And?”

“Don’t you think this is a bit . . . odd? For the Emperor to do?”

Rey looks straight into his eyes and shakes her head. “You’re still a human, Ben, and you can celebrate stuff like this like normal humans do. You look  _ adorable.  _ And it’s not as if the entire galaxy is going to see you looking this adorable anyways. This is just for us.”

He tugs at the wool and groans. “You’re going to send pictures to my mom. And then she’ll show them to Dameron and  _ Finn,”  _ he takes in a deep breath — he doesn’t think he’ll ever like the man he still, at heart, considers a traitor, “and then the entire Senate organizing team will know, and it’ll leak to the public.”

“Is that really such a bad thing? All these magazines and holoshows are always looking for drama and an insight on our relationship, and this could be inspirational! A sign to show them how much you’ve changed.”

She’s sounding a little  _ too excited _ now, so he sighs and looks down at the orange and grey sweater Rey had been working on for the past month and concedes. “We are  _ not  _ releasing these pictures to the public. If they happen, they happen. But  _ not  _ on purpose.”

She smiles like she’s won the fight — she knows she always does win them, anyways — and runs up to him to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before she runs out the door. “Let me get Berry. Then we can start!”

It’s hard to keep the soft grin off his face when he sees her so happy, so glad to have a family for once. He hates these kinds of traditions, hates pictures and family photos, but now he thinks he can admit that that’s mainly a product of his upbringing. His parents, when he was younger, had been all too fine with pushing him aside until they needed him; and for Leia, that often meant for PR photoshoots. He’d talked it over with her and they’d both forgiven each other’s past mistakes, but the situation leaves a strange, hollow spot in his chest.

He pushes it aside for Rey. It’s important for him that they work on making memories together, and if this is a part of it for her, he’s all in. Besides their engagement and wedding ceremonies they haven’t really done much celebrating in the past two years. There aren’t very many holidays in the middle of space. Abstractly, he thinks about taking her to celebrate the harvest festival on Corellia next year. He hasn’t been to his homeworld in quite some time. Perhaps they could visit where he’d lived as a child, if Leia still has his belongings.

Rey comes back in after a few minutes to him staring into space, Berry in her arms. The porg is also wearing a small sweater — although he doesn’t really know why, he fits their color scheme already — and is cooing, face burrowed in Rey’s chest. She hands him the sleepy creature while she sets the equipment into place.

“Let’s use the window as our background — there’s quite a few stars out there, it’s nice to look at — turn sideways Ben — wake him  _ up,  _ he needs to be facing the camera — alright, perfect!” she runs up to them, wrapping her left arm around Ben and helping him support Berry’s light weight. “Smile!”

He changes his face — smiling and laughing and sticking out his tongue whenever she asks him to, resigning himself over to a fate of matching porg sweaters and family photos. Eventually, Rey seems to be tired of the picture taking too — she runs over and shuts the contraption off, moving it to the side after connecting it to her datapad and watching the images start to load. Berry is wide awake now, groaning after all the light flashing in his eyes. Ben sets him down on the bedside table and slides down next to his wife. 

“How are they looking?”

He nuzzles his face into her collarbone, but then looks up after a few seconds pass of silence. Rey’s staring down at the datapad, her face a strange mixture of serene and shocked. 

“Rey?”

She glances at him, this time, and gives him a weak smile. “They’re perfect, Ben. Perfect. I’m going to frame them and look at them every day. And I’m going to send them to your mom. I don’t care what you think. They’re perfect.”

He snickers into her shoulder. “I knew you were going to. It’s okay.”

A few more seconds pass, and he closes his eyes and leans further into her warmth only for her to swap him on the forehead.

“Ugh. That hurt.”

“Don’t start falling asleep on me now! We still have to cut the cake.”

Moaning, he looked up. “A cake? You got a cake? For Berry?”

She sniffs at his slightly condescending tone. “Yes, I did. And we’re going to cut it for him.”

She looks completely earnest. He blinks. “Can he even eat cake?”

Berry eats anything, he’s well aware, although he does have a certain affinity for fish. It’s what he usually steals from the mess hall, anyways. He assumes. He doesn’t exactly police Berry’s eating. And the creature  _ does  _ enjoy chewing on wires. Despite that, he finds it incredibly hard to take the fact that they’ve got a cake for him seriously. 

“Why—”

“It’s his birthday, Ben. We talked about this!”

“It’s not his birthday. We don’t even know when he was born —”

A sharp intake of breath stops him in the middle of his sentence. Rey is staring at him with her eyes open widely and a strange, hurt look in her eyes.  _ What did he say?  _ Oh.

He thinks about what they’ve celebrated over the past years — their wedding, Finn and Poe’s, the anniversary of Snoke’s death, even — but never their own birth dates. He hadn’t thought about his in a while. His birth had never, and still doesn’t, feel like much of a cause for celebration. After Luke, after the academy, it hadn’t crossed his mind once. And angsty, powerful, out of control Ben Solo had never really cared much for his before that, anyways.

But Rey — Rey doesn’t know her birth date. She doesn’t even know how old she is, really, although the med droids seem to guess she’s in her early twenties. She doesn’t know where she was born, what traditions to follow, any of it. He grasps her shoulder. “Rey—”

She shrugs out of his arms and stands up, leaving him in a mess of blankets, splayed across the sheets as her weight disappears. “Rey, I’m sorry—”

She ignores him as she picks up Berry, only to stop, back turned, at the door and whisper something unintelligible. Then she straightens her shoulders and huffs. “Berry and I are going to go celebrate his  _ birthday,  _ whether you believe it or not. Have fun with your dead past,  _ Kylo.” _

He winces. That was a low blow; she only calls him by that name when she’s really mad, a throwback to their less-than-ideal conversations when they’d first met. It’s not hard, usually, to distance himself from Ben Solo when he’s ruling the galaxy and Kylo Ren when he’s with her. Kylo Ren is the Emperor, the strong but gentle touch, the one who makes decisions, who can be the kind of callous leaders must be. Ben Solo is hers, and the message is clear as air.

He scrambles out of the bed and runs out the door, where Rey is unveiling a cake covered in berries, ironically, Berry hopping up and down on her shoulder. She’s laying it out on their table, making sure it’s placed artfully. When she sees him standing in the corner, eyes repenitent, she sighs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

He walks up to her and kisses her forehead before looking into her eyes. “No, I’m sorry. You have a right to be mad. We’ll celebrate ourselves. Both of us.”

She grins. “The day we met. That can be our special day.”

Berry pats his shoulder with a fluffy wing, and Ben twists his mouth at the screeching porg. “And yes, today is your special day, you little terror. Let’s cut your cake!” He rubs the top of Berry’s head, finding comfort in his soft feathers.

Rey gazes at the little display for a minute before moving out of his grip once again. “Make yourself useful and get the holovid recorder ready, Ben. We can sing to him.”

His smirk enlarging, Ben moves back to their bedroom and grabs the equipment, briefly setting it up before moving next to his wife in its viewfinder, Berry sitting on the table in front of the cake. He looks like he’s salivating, trying immediately to take a bite of it; only for Rey to stop him with a hand held out and a warning look that fails to stay serious.

After they finish singing, Berry unleashes himself into the cake, burrowing into it and spraying parts of it onto the two humans in the room. Ben blinks for a second, trying to get oi-ois out of his eyes, and smirks when he sees a bit of camby berry on Rey’s nose, leaning down and licking it off. 

“Hm. Tasty,” he quips, and she laughs, swiping cake off his chin. “I don’t think we’re going to actually be able to eat any of it.”

Indeed they don’t. Berry manages to plow through the entire thing in minutes, eating what he can and leaving feathers in the pulpy remains. Rey turns up a nose and the remnants; notable, as she can usually eat almost anything. She walks over to turn off the recording, and he summons a towel from the ‘fresher to run over his face, using it to get her’s too as she comes back.

Berry sits, satisfied, in the middle of the remains of his conquest, and lets out a little porg burp.

They both burst out into laughter, crackling up as Ben wipes the remains of berries from Rey’s face. Once she regains her breath, she smirks. “Now, time for your present!”

Berry perks up, opening up towards them, and Rey giggles. 

Ben, on the other hand, whispers into his wife’s ear. “Was I supposed to get him something?”

She looks at him amusedly. “Don’t worry, mine is from both of us. Actually, it’s kind of for the both of you.”

He watches her as she runs into what he supposes is ‘her’ room, full of all her little trinkets, and when she returns she’s carrying a bundle of wrapped paper in her arms. He’s unsure what exactly it is, but her eyes are twinkling. 

Berry lunges at it the minute she sets it down, frantically chewing through her careful wrapping. Something fluffy is visible when he finishes, and Ben blinks.

“Is that a bed?”

She gives him a proud smile. “Yup.”

He turns his head. “How is this for me?”

“Oh. Silly. It’s for your office! This way Berry can stay with you while you’re working without staying in your lap.”

As the sentiment processes, he can’t help but be a little disheartened. He  _ likes  _ having Berry in his lap, most of the time. The little terror reminds him that not all living beings are terrified of him; it’s a comfort.

He tries to hide it through the bond but Rey senses his thoughts. Even Berry, now settled inside of his new bed, looks up at him with wide eyes. She gives him a light smile. “You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. I’m sure you’re equally as comfortable as a bed.”

He stares at the fluffy whiteness of the large pillow, wrapping his head around it. “I don’t think so,” he pouts. 

Rey lets out an amused breath. “Berry,” she leans in close, “will you still stay with Ben? In his lap? Sometimes?”

The porg coos again and lifts up, flapping his way onto Ben’s forearm, leaving berry juice over his black cowl. Ben smiles as he squawks out a familiar tone and settles in to take a post-binge nap on his best friend.

“Aww,” Rey smirks. “My two favorite boys in the world.”

Ben gives her a stare that even he doesn’t think is intimidating and moves Berry closer, whispering. “Happy Birthday, little terror.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should be studying for AP tests and being a productive member of quarantine society but no. PORG.  
> stay safe during quarantine people :)


End file.
